Saturday, July 26, 2014

Son Jon and Childhood Memories of Ice Cream

Son Jon was involved today representing Mr. Lydecker and his store during Civil War time back in Virginia. He wrote the following of his Childhood memories of our making ice cream. "Years
ago, I think I must have been about 11 or 12 years old, in 5th grade,
I began to deliver the "Washington Daily News." With one of
my first checks, I purchased a hand-crank ice cream maker. On any

particular
Sunday afternoon, my mom would mix up "the custard" and my
dad would freeze milk containers of ice. We'll set up the ice cream maker
in the backyard, my dad would get out the burlap bag and get his ax
and frozen milk containers. He'd bust up the ice and scatter the ice
in the wooden bucket, surrounding the metal container, containing my
mom's custard mix.

Then
the fun began. We'd take turns in my family of 3 boys (I have two
older brothers) and 1 girl and my mom and dad.My dad kept up the
layer of ice. Not to forget putting the kosher rock salt on the ice
periodically to keep it really cold (below 32 degrees.) We'd crank
and crank, as steady and even as possible. Didn't seem like we were
making any progress for quite a while. Seems like about 45
minutes or so, it would really get hard to crank the handle. My dad usually
took over at the end to put the last really hard turns on the

handle
and to make sure it was ready.

Then
he would take off the handle, pack the ice cream maker with the rest
of the busted up ice with salt carefully spread, being careful not
to get any salt into the ice cream. He'd lay the burlap bag over the
ice cream maker. It would really set up well. We'd have a picnic

of
hamburgers and hot dogs and other great food that my mom would make.
My dad would do the burgers and dogs. With the completion of the
main course of dinner, we'd get the ice cream.

The
unveiling. Off with the burlap. Brushing off of the ice. Opening of
the metal container. Wow. Fresh homemade ice cream. Now the bowls and
spoons from mom and dad would pull out the dasher (the inner workings
of the maker). He's scrap off the ice cream on the dasher back into
the metal container. It was a lucky person who got to lick off the
remaining ice cream off the dasher."

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

My wife and I are enjoying the fruits of our labors after many years of federal and state agency service in the environmental field. We live in a small house in a small town near Lincoln, NE. We are fortunate in having our daughter and her husband living nearby. Our granddaughter, her husband, their daughter Sadie & son Jack also live in Seward. I have seen major league baseball games in all 30 current stadiums and have kept a daily diary or Journal for many, many years.